Folding furniture



Allgm 13, 1929. G, PUCCM 31,724,220

FoLDInG FURNITURE Filed July 20. 1925 2" Shmt-Sheet l Aug. 3 wim e. PuccrA 1,724,220

FOLDING FURN I TUBE Filed July 20. 1925 2 ShBBtS-Shee't E Patented Aug. 13, 1929. i

UNITED STATES PATIENT OFFICE..Y

GIOVANNI PUCCIA, F MODICA, ITALY.

romaine FURNITURE.

Application lllecl July 20, 1925, Serial No. 44,943 and in Italy .l'uly 22, 1924.

The present invention relates to improvel ments in folding furniture, and more particularly to chairs, arm chairs, sofas and rocking' chairs. One of the objects of the invention is to provide a chair or sofa which is of simple construction and which can be readily folded so as to occupy the least possible space when not in use.

Another object of the invention is to produce a structure of this type, the elements of which are securely held in'their extended positions.

With these and other objects in view, which will more fully appear as the nature of the'invention is better understood, the same consists in the combination, arrangement and construction of parts hereinafter described, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it being understood that many changes may be made in the size and proportion' of the several parts and details of construction within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the s irit or sacrificing any of the advantages o the invention.

A few of the many possible embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

. Figure 1 is a slde elevation of an arm chair constructed in accordance with the present invention, its elements being in their extended or open positions; Fig. 2 is a similar elevation of the chair in its partly folded state; Fig. 3 is a similar elevation of a modied chair in its fully closed osition; Fig. .4 is a side elevation of the chair shown in Fi 3 in its full open position; Fig. 5

is a side elevation o a modication of a detail of construction of the chair shown in Figs. 3 andli; Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a further modification of the invention, the elements of the chair being shown in their partly folded positions; Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a further modification` of the invention, the same being in the form of a 4rocking chair; Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the modification shown in Fig. 7, the elements of the chair being in their folded positions; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a still further modification of the invention; Fig. 10 is a top elevation of alink and pivot used in the construction shown in Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is a side elevation of a modified arm chair,

its seat being partly open position; Fig. 12 1s a perspective view of one modification o f a rocking chair; and Figs. 13 and 14: are slde elevations of details of construction, both showing connections between the seat, back and legs of the chair.

At the outset it is to be observed that the invention is applicable both to sofas and chairs, the Idifference between the two structures being that the transverse bars which connect the sides of the furniture will be longer in one case and shorter in the other one.

Referring now first to Figs. l1 to 2 of the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates the front legs of a chair and the numeral 11 the rear legs thereof. There are two pairs of legs provided, the membersof each pair crossing each other and turning on a pvot 12. The front legs are connected by transverse bars 13 and 14 and the rear legs by transverse bars 15 and 16. To the upper ends of the rear legs 11 is pivoted at 17 a seat18, which comprises, for instance, side members 19, connected by transverse bars 20 and 21. The elements of the seat now described may be upholstered, or covered with a suitable fabric. The seat rests, when in its extended position, on the transverse bar 13, which connects the front legs 10. The pivots 17 serve at the same time to secure to the rear legs 11a chair back 22, comprising side members 22', united by transverse bars 23.

The side members 22 of the back are connected with the front legs l0 by chair arms 24, each arm being pivoted at 25 to a side member of the back and at 26 to the upper end of the corresponding front leg 10. The front legs of the chair are considerably longer than the rear legs, the said front legs projecting above the vseat up to the level of the pivots 25 above referred to.

Each side member 19 of the seat is connected with the adjacent front leg 10 by a link 27. This link is connected by pivot pins 100 28 and 29 with the seat and front leg, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, or the connection may be made by the construction shown in Fig. 1() of the drawings, in which thepivots 28 and 29 are made inte- 105 gral with the link 27. The' links cause the scat to move with the front legs of the chair both toward extended and folded positions. The links serve furthermore as a means for locking the chair in its extended or open 11 position. For this purpose the pivot pins 29 are disposed somewhat higher than the pivot pins 28. Due to this construction, the seat is forced onto the transverse bar 13 when brought to extended position.

When the chair is to be folded, the operator takes hold of the free edge of the back 22 with one hand and lifts the front edge of the seat with the other hand so as to disengage the seat from the transverse bar 13. When now the back is pushed downwards,

the rear legs l1 are caused to turn on the pivots 12, bringing their lower ends uppermost, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. In this manner the back is brought into parallel relation with the front legs 10 and the seat is housed between the back and the two pairs of legs. It is to be observed that the arms 24 move with the back 22, due to the pivot connection between the said back and the said arms. In order to bring the chair to open or extended position7 obviously the operations now described are executed in the reverse order.

The modification illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings differs from the one above described mainly in that the legs of the chair are of the same length and the chair arms 30 are connected to the front legs by the pivot pins 29 of the links 27. Otherwise the construction and operatio'nof "the chair is the same as those described in connection with Figs. 1 and`2 of the drawings.

The modification illustrated in Fig. 5 differs from the one illustratedin Figs. 3 and 4 in that the chair arms 31 thereof are each connected bya pivot pin 32 with an construction facilitates extension ofthe This the folding and opening ofthe chair. In order to fold this chair, it is only necessary to swing the back thereof toward the front legs, the arm 31 causing then a disengagement -of the seat fromthe transverse bar 13, whereby all ele-. ments are caused to move toward folding positions.

The modification illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawings is generally ofthe type shown in Figs. 1 and 2. It differs from the latter, however, in that the front portion of, the seat 33 thereof is pivotally fixed to the transverse bar 13, while the rear end of the seat is connected with the rear legs of the chair by links 34 and 35. One end of each link 34 is pivoted at 36 to the seat 33 and at its other end at 37 to one end of the corresponding link 35. The other end .of each link 35 respective link 27".

is'fixed to the corresponding pivot -17 of the chair. Each pivot has a bent projection 38,

'adapted to co-operate with a stop pin 39 on the chair back. The pin 39 projects outwardly of the chair back. On each side of the chair back is provided an inwardly projecting stop pin 40, which is adapted to co-operate with the corresponding link 35. The stop pins limit the swinging movement of the links 34 and 35 when the chair is being opened. The rear end of each side member of the chair seat is provided with a notch 41; in which the transverse bar 15 is adapted to be seated when the chair is in its extended position. Each side member of the chair seat is also provided with a stop pin 42, which, in co-operation with the respective stop pin 39, prevents the respective link 34 from than necessary and forcing the seat onto the transverse bar l5.

A further 'modification of the invention is illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 of the drawings, differing from the one described in connection with Figs. 1 and 2 in that additional elements are provided which convert the chair shown in Figs. 1 and 2 into a rocking chair. With each pair of legs is associated a rocker 43, which is pivoted at 43 to the lower end of the rear leg and by a link 44 connected with the front leg. A link 44 is pivoted at 45 to the rocker member and at 46 to the front leg. Due to these links, the rocker members are folded and extended as the chair is being folded and extended, respectively.

In order to make the chair more rigid, the transverse bars 15 may be connecten with the pivots 12 by two struts 47, as clearlyshown in F ig. 9 of the drawings.

The modication illustrated in Fig. 11 of the drawings differs from those above described in that the links between the chair seat and the chair legs are missing. In this instance each side member of the chair seat is provided with a notch 48, in which is adapted to be seated the transverse bar 13 of the chair, when the latter is in its extended position.

The rocking chair illustrated in Fig. l2 of the drawings differs from the one shown in Figs. 7 and 8 only in that the struts described in connection with Fig. 9 are applied to this chair. Otherwise the construction and operation of the elements are the same.

The modification illustrated in Fig. 13 differs from those above described in that the seat 18 is pivoted to the rear legs at 49 and the chair back is pivoted to the said legs at 50. In the modification illustrated in Fig. 14, on the other hand, the seat is pivoted to the rear legs at 5l and the back is pivoted at 52 to the chair seat. Otherwise the construction and operation of the elements are the same as of those of the corresponding elements hereinbefore described.

What I claim is:

1. A folding chair comprising a pair of crossed legs, the front leg of each pair being substantially longer than the -rear leg thereof, a pivot connecting each pair of legs and around which said legs may be folded, a seat pivotally connected with the upper end of each rear leg, a pair of links connecting said seat with said front legs a substantial distance below the upper ends of the latter, a

chair back;z pivotally connected with said lower ends, and a pair of links connecting rear legs at their upper ends, and arm rests said rocker members with said front legs pivotally connected with said chair back and adjacent the lower ends of the latter. with said front legs at the upper ends or" the latter.

2. A folding chair according to claim 1, comprising a pair of rocker members pivotally connected to said rear legs at their GIOVANNI PUCCIA. 

